BISMARCK, N.D. — The state Supreme Court has rejected a last-ditch attempt to keep Dakota Access Pipeline construction security records private.
The Bismarck Tribune reported Thursday that the case involves documents the pipeline’s security overseer, TigerSwan, gave to the state’s Private Investigation and Security Board during a dispute over whether the North Carolina company operated illegally in North Dakota. That issue was resolved in September 2020 when the company agreed to pay the board a $175,000 settlement.
The Intercept online news organization sued in November 2020 to obtain the documents. The pipeline’s developer, Energy Transfer, has argued the documents are confidential. The state Supreme Court ruled in late April that they’re public records since the security board received them for use in public business.
The Tribune reported that Energy Transfer asked the court May 12 to rehear the case. The justices refused in a May 23 order that did not explain their reasoning.
Re-hearings are rare for the Supreme Court. The justices last granted one in 2013, and then only to correct a misstatement in an opinion.
Energy Transfer officials didn’t respond to a message.
